Cuomo resigns over sexual harassment allegations

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday implicit a barrage of intersexual harassment allegations successful a autumn from grace a twelvemonth aft helium was wide hailed nationally for his elaborate regular briefings and enactment during immoderate of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a televised address, the 63-year-old Democrat emphatically denied intentionally showing immoderate disrespect toward women but said that warring backmost against what helium called the “politically motivated” onslaught connected him would taxable the authorities to months of turmoil, and “I cannot beryllium the origin of that.”

“The champion mode I tin assistance present is if I measurement speech and fto authorities get backmost to government,” Cuomo said.

The three-term Democratic governor’s decision, which volition instrumentality effect successful 2 weeks, was announced arsenic momentum built successful the Legislature to region him by impeachment. It came aft New York’s lawyer wide released the results of an probe that recovered Cuomo sexually harassed astatine slightest 11 women.

Investigators said helium subjected women to unwanted kisses; groped their breasts oregon buttocks oregon different touched them inappropriately; made insinuating remarks astir their looks and their enactment lives; and created a enactment situation “rife with fearfulness and intimidation.”

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a 62-year-old Democrat and erstwhile subordinate of Congress from the Buffalo area, volition go the state’s 57th politician and the archetypal pistillate to clasp the post.

The #MeToo-era ungraded chopped abbreviated not conscionable a vocation but a dynasty: Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, was politician successful the 1980s and ’90s, and the younger Cuomo was often mentioned arsenic a imaginable campaigner for president, an bureau his begetter famously contemplated seeking. Even arsenic the ungraded mushroomed, Cuomo was readying to tally for reelection successful 2022.

Cuomo inactive faces the anticipation of transgression charges, with a fig of prosecutors astir the authorities moving to analyse him.

The drawstring of accusations that spelled the governor’s downfall began to unfold successful quality reports past December and went connected for months.

Cuomo called immoderate of the allegations fabricated, forcefully denying helium touched anyone inappropriately. But helium acknowledged making immoderate aides uncomfortable with comments helium said helium intended arsenic playful, and helium apologized for immoderate of his behavior.

He portrayed immoderate of the encounters arsenic misunderstandings attributable to “generational oregon cultural” differences, a notation successful portion to his upbringing successful an affectionate Italian American family.

As a defiant Cuomo clung to office, authorities lawmakers launched an impeachment investigation, and astir the full Democratic constitution successful New York deserted him — not lone implicit the accusations, but besides due to the fact that of the find that his medication had concealed thousands of COVID-19 deaths among nursing location patients.

The harassment probe ordered up by the lawyer wide and conducted by 2 extracurricular lawyers corroborated the women’s accounts and added lurid caller ones. The merchandise of the study near the politician much isolated than ever, with immoderate of his astir loyal supporters abandoning him and President Joe Biden joining those calling connected him to resign.

His accusers included an adjutant who said Cuomo groped her bosom astatine the governor’s mansion. Investigators besides the governor’s unit retaliated against 1 of his accusers by leaking confidential unit files astir her.

As governor, Cuomo touted himself arsenic an illustration of a “progressive Democrat” who gets things done: Since taking bureau successful 2011, helium helped propulsion done authorities that legalized cheery marriage, began lifting the minimum wage to $15 and expanded paid household permission benefits. He besides backed large infrastructure projects, including airdrome overhauls and operation of a caller span implicit the Hudson River that helium named aft his father.

At the aforesaid clip the behaviour that got him into occupation was going on, helium was publically championing the #MeToo question and surrounding himself with women’s rights activists, signing into instrumentality sweeping caller protections against intersexual harassment and lengthening the statute of limitations successful rape cases.

His nationalist popularity soared during the harrowing outpouring of 2020, erstwhile New York became the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak.

His tough-minded but empathetic effect made for riveting tv good beyond New York, and his stern warnings to radical to enactment location and deterioration masks stood successful crisp opposition to President Donald Trump’s brush-off of the virus. His briefings won an planetary Emmy Award, and helium went connected to constitute a publication connected enactment successful a crisis.

But adjacent those accomplishments were soon tainted erstwhile it was learned that the state’s authoritative number of nursing location deaths had excluded galore patients who had been transferred to hospitals earlier they succumbed. A Cuomo adjutant acknowledged the medication feared the existent numbers would beryllium “used against us” by the Trump White House.

Also, Cuomo’s medication was fiercely criticized for forcing nursing homes to judge patients recovering from the virus.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the state’s handling of information connected nursing location deaths. In addition, the authorities lawyer wide is looking into whether Cuomo broke the instrumentality successful utilizing members of his unit to assistance constitute and beforehand his book, from which helium stood to marque much than $5 million.

The politician had besides progressively travel nether occurrence implicit his unsmooth and sometimes vindictive attraction of chap politicians and his ain staff, with erstwhile aides telling stories of a brutal enactment environment.

Cuomo has been divorced since 2005 from the writer and activistic Kerry Kennedy, a subordinate of the Kennedy family, and was romantically progressive up until 2019 with TV manner property Sandra Lee. He has 3 big daughters.

During his resignation speech, helium straight addressed his daughters, saying: “I privation them to know, from the bottommost of my heart: I ne'er did, and I ne'er would, intentionally disrespect a pistillate oregon dainty a pistillate otherwise than I would privation them treated. Your dada made mistakes. And helium apologized. And helium learned from it. And that’s what beingness is each about.”

He gained governmental acquisition aboriginal connected arsenic his father’s hard-nosed and often ruthless run manager, and went connected to go New York lawyer wide and U.S. lodging caput nether President Bill Clinton earlier getting elected politician successful 2010.

New York has seen a drawstring of high-level governmental figures brought down successful disgrace successful caller years.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned successful 2008 successful a call-girl scandal. Rep. Anthony Weiner went to situation for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stepped down successful 2018 aft 4 women accused him of abuse. And the apical 2 leaders successful the Legislature were convicted of corruption.